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Viewing apps through a tween's eyes

By Susan Jennings, Digital First Media

Posted:
09/06/2013 03:50:45 AM MDT

Updated:
09/06/2013 06:03:35 AM MDT

(Hemera/Thinkstock)

While my children are still years away from accounts on SnapChat, Vine or whatever social media sites take their place in the next 10 years, that doesn't mean I haven't had my fair share of "I can't believe that kid posted that" moments.

When our 16-year-old babysitter sent me a friend request on Facebook I didn't think twice about accepting it. But her posts about how much she hated school and rants about ex-boyfriends made me cringe and feel grateful social media didn't exist when I was in high school. And when she recently posted a too-racy-for-my-comfort photo of her new tattoos, I resolved to find a new babysitter.

Considering that, like most of my friends, I use my Facebook and Instagram accounts mainly to share pictures of my kids and links to articles I like, I wasn't prepared for shots of upper-thigh body art.

As savvy parents, I'm sure you already check in with your teens on Facebook and scan their text messages to make sure they're not posting anything too racy or offensive. But your presence on the popular social media sites has sent many teens packing for less supervised pastures.

A recent survey of teens by Piper Jaffray found that 33 percent listed Facebook as their most important social media site, down 9 percentage points from last year. Among the teens' top write-in candidates were Vine and Snapchat.

If you want to find out what your kid is posting, it's time to expand your social media portfolio. Here are three apps to download that are especially popular among teens and tweens:

The concept is simple: Snap a picture, crop it, use a cool filter to embellish it and then post it (they can also be uploaded to Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Tumblr).

Sure, teens and tweens can use the site to showcase their creative side, but they can also post indecent photos of themselves and the commenting function invites the same cattiness and bullying that makes parents fear Facebook.

And kids use the site differently than grownups do. They're less concerned about aesthetics than the message they want to share — basically writing status updates on top of photos à la those popular Facebook memes.

For a look into what Instagram is being used for, just read the comment section on articles discussing whether it's safe for kids to use.

"I am a 6th grade teacher who has recently become aware of Instagram - not from the students, but from other teachers. Some of them are following their students accounts to stay alert about potential bullying, planned fights, etc. It is very disturbing what some of these young children are posting on this supposedly safe photo-sharing site. Just found out yesterday that one of my students, an eleven year old girl, had posted a picture of her bed fully covered with thongs and other suggestive lingerie. She had hundreds of 'likes' on the photo, mostly from boys and men," one commenter posted on a YouSphere for Parents article.

Other parents expressed shock and horror about finding pictures of kids cutting themselves, along with instructions for how to do it safely and how to hide the scars.

Basically, the video version of Instagram, Vine allows users to shoot and upload six-second, looping videos that can then be shared on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The app is less than a year old, but it already has 40 million registered users.

Early on, it had a porn problem, which Vine addressed by making that content almost impossible to search for. It's still there, though — and the Terms of Service don't prohibit posting nudity or sexual content, so it's allowed to be there. The minimum age allowed to download the app is 17.

"My take on Vine is, that although it does offer a creative outlet for some, others see it as a vehicle to gain fame among their peers. Kids are doing the 'cinnamon challenge,' jumping off roofs into swimming pools, and testing other limits in hopes that their video is the one that goes viral," one parent posted on a YouSphere article.

Some of these challenges like #ballpit, where teens climb into the cases that hold inflatable balls at Walmart, are obnoxious, but harmless. But others, like #SmackCam, in which videos show the shocked, screaming faces of unsuspecting victims after they've been hit in the face, are outright violent.

Snapchat is a messaging app on which users can share photos, videos, text and artwork with friends. The message disappears after a specified amount of time designated by the sender (up to 10 seconds), and it notifies senders if their friends have taken a screenshot.

The purpose of the app is to allow users to capture a moment in time without worrying about whether they're having a bad hair day or look silly. As of February, more than 60 million photos were being exchanged daily, according to policymic.com.

As with all of these apps, Snapchat can be used for sexting. The problem with Snapchat is that when users share potentially embarrassing pictures or posts, they're lured into thinking it will disappear into the ether. But as with anything related to digital technology, that is rarely the case.

Recipients can take screenshots of the message, and they can also use a camera to take pictures (so that the sender doesn't know the photo was taken). And now there's an app call Snap Save, which allows users to save incoming Snapchat messages without the sender being notified. Finally, users should beware that posts are never actually deleted from your phone — it just takes a knowledgeable coder to find them.

The app was designed for users to connect with friends and contacts they already have. However, anyone with a Snapchat account can send messages to your kid if they have his or her Snapchat username. Parents can learn more about how to use the app safely on the Snapchat Guide for Parents (PDF).

While it's important for teens and tweens to be given a platform for self-expression, it's also critical that parents are aware of what that self-expression is. Rather than waiting to find a video of your son launching a carton of milk at an unsuspecting classmate or see a picture of your daughter's underwear drawer circulating, it's smart to get your kids to think critically about using these apps safely and thoughtfully.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.